Nintendo 64, What's your favorite to play or to avoid in the under $20 crowd? (No first party, No Rare)

[Tanooki]

Topic says it all. I started picking up a few N64 games locally here the last couple of weeks when I found my LED TV somehow doesn't have fits with the N64 like my other TVs in the past have. For some reason it doesn't have darkness for shadows, overkill mudd in Hudson games, blurred out 2D graphics, scrambled high res stills, etc going on with it.

Mostly I've been picking up stuff I had before I enjoyed the most which so far have been Aerofighters Assault, Beetle Adventure Racing!, Blast Corps, Bomberman Hero, Mischief Makers, Perfect Dark and Top Gear Rally.

It got me thinking looking at some decent local shelves here and comparing online there are a LOT of non-sports games on N64 that get ignored for one reason or another. Some suck, some don't, but they don't get much comment or respect on or offline. Everyone wants to talk up the 1st and 2nd party games, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and not much else unless it's a falsely made rare game to get a lot of money out of it like Worms or Bomberman Second Attack.

Do any of you have any lesser known favorites that are worth it, or stuff you know are bonafide turds to avoid? Even I've noticed some really solid games maybe look bad, but the game play still shines through (chopper attack is decent for instance.) To make it interesting let's keep it at $20 or less per game. :D

[celerystalker]

I like Bomberman 64, as it's more puzzle than anything. If you want to import, Robot Poncots (or Ponkottsu) 64 is part of the Robopon series, and can use the transfer pak for some GB crossover goodness you may enjoy. I still like the Aki wrestling games as well. Wetrix was a fun puzzle game for me... you already mentioned Mischief Makers, which I loved... Star Soldier is pretty much your only real shooter option, and it's serviceable.

[retro junkie]

Some games that I have enjoyed, and still do, are
Hydro Thunder
Goemon's Great Adventure
Robotron 64
Super Robot Spirits 64 (Japan)
Cruis'n Exotica
Dark Rift
Fighting Force 64
Ridge Racer 64
Bust-A-Move 2
Wipeout 64
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Japan)
Star Wars Racer

[Tanooki]

I've always been curious about that Fighting Force game as I kept hearing it was like 3D Final Fight but never popped for it in all these years. Evangelion I have been too, but it looked like a language barrier. The local store that gets old games here got a stunningly nice CIB copy of it, but they want $80 which is not happening so when I go in and see it it's like a mean taunt. Good selections so far of good games, and I think Star Soldier is far better than just serviceable as I've held onto that one all these years even when I slimmed things down as it's fun -- also that opening on it was a cool intro with all the ship combat as it reminded me of like 3D demoscene stuff almost.

I'm wondering about certain games though like Aerogauge, Knife Edge, Dark Rift, and various others. I also know Quake 1, Quake 2 (not a port is my understanding) and Hexen made it over along with a pair of unique Duke games but I've never heard anyone's personal accounts of those. DOOM I have it's stunningly good and unique, not a port which a lot seem to think it is.

[Aussie2B]

Goemon's Great Adventure

Sadly it's more like a $40 game these days. But that's what I'd recommend otherwise. Easily one of the very best N64 games, in my opinion.

[Daria]

Shit... I only like 2 games on the system and neither fit the topic.

[goldenband]

Besides games already mentioned (e.g. Chopper Attack), I've enjoyed:

All-Star Baseball '99
Gauntlet Legends
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero
Tigger's Honey Hunt

South Park gave me some amusement too, though it's very repetitive.

[Tanooki]

I heard Sub Zero was pretty bad but that was also years ago when the print gaming media was in the pocket of anything not Nintendo and found whatever good reason to dump on the 64 too. Wasn't that the non-fighting platformer? I had an interest in it then but was soured by all the whiny bad press it received.

Also I agree about Goemon and it's a shame it's semi-expensive now pushing original retail just for the game alone, perhaps the 3D pre-Ocarina of time style game is still within the range? I still think it's more fun than Ocarina too. :)

[goldenband]

I heard Sub Zero was pretty bad but that was also years ago when the print gaming media was in the pocket of anything not Nintendo and found whatever good reason to dump on the 64 too. Wasn't that the non-fighting platformer? I had an interest in it then but was soured by all the whiny bad press it received.

It is indeed a platformer, though it has plenty of battles that are somewhere between MK and a beat-'em-up. It has a bad reputation, but I found it perfectly playable and even fun, and it was one of the only N64 games that grabbed me while the system was on the market.

Two caveats, though -- I'm a fan of 2.5D platformers in general, and I haven't actually finished the game so if it all goes to hell in later levels, I wouldn't know. (I completed Very Easy and Easy, but those don't let you play the final levels of the game.)

[The Adventurer]

Winback (the closest we ever got to Metal Gear on N64)
Hybrid Heaven (under appreciated RPG)
Space Station Silicon Valley (A FANTASTIC platform puzzler)
Bomberman Hero (really, any of the N64 Bombermans)
Castlevania 64 (not actually as bad as you'd think)
WWF No Mercy (even if you don't give a shit about Wrassling)

[Aussie2B]

Also I agree about Goemon and it's a shame it's semi-expensive now pushing original retail just for the game alone, perhaps the 3D pre-Ocarina of time style game is still within the range? I still think it's more fun than Ocarina too. :)

Unfortunately Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon has climbed too, though it looks like it can be had for a little bit less than Goemon's Great Adventure. Which is kinda weird because I always hear people talk about Mystical Ninja a lot more, though I'm guessing Goemon's Great Adventure is the rarer game. Personally, I think Goemon's Great Adventure is the better game, but they're both fun.

Looking at today's prices makes me glad that I splurged a little, spending more than I would on the average used game (more than I spend on the average new game, for that matter), to get a CIB copy of Goemon's Great Adventure a year or two after it came out for about 30 bucks.

[Nathan Dunsmore]

007: The World is Not Enough
Spiderman
Tarzan
Road Rash 64
NFL Blitz - Any year
NBA Showtime
NBA Hangtime
Roadsters
Shadowman
Top Gear Hyperbike
Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness
Fighter's Destiny 1 and 2

[Gentlegamer]

I approve of this "budget collector" topic, I've been wanting to get into more N64. And I'm cheap.

[Bobo Mcloud]

Almost anything by iguana on the 64 was pretty quality, shadowman was epic.

[Tanooki]

I approve of this "budget collector" topic, I've been wanting to get into more N64. And I'm cheap.

That is exactly why I limited it to a $20 cap. I've seen posts about N64 over the years at gamefaqs, NWR, even NA and usually it always circles the same toilet -- What did Nintendo release? What did RARE release? What is a collectard made non-rare overpriced title that's at least $50+ dollars suddenly making it good to justify paying that much. That I wanted to avoid. :) Easily we could have had anything from those 2 developer plus stuff like Worms, Bomberman Second Attack and so on and that defeats the purpose.


I like these lists of games, if anyone cares to or has the time, I'm curious why some of them are listed? In a system loaded with 3D fighters and a huge supply of racing games what makes something like Roadsters or Top Gear Hyperbike worth it, or why Fighters Destiny is better to get than MK4 or other arcade converts like War Gods?

I can name some games I don't currently have, but when I had a good shelf load of N64 games before I couldn't use it right for years (until now) I enjoyed. In no real ideal order...
- World Driver Championship (Can be had for like $5 if that) It's a wannabe gran turismo game with less customization, BOSS studios made it who did the Top Gear games, has an insane handling, control and graphics engine and is fun.
- Robotron 64. 3D, kind of like the arcade, but it's mindless fun that goes for hours if you can keep yourself alive, and also a $5 title.
- Turok (first one) - Has some overkill fogging, but that aside really nice enemies, good stage design, solid challenge, and fairly unique taking down dinosaurs and stuff, DOOM like with keys and items to grab.
- Star Wars Ep 1 Racer - Even if you dislike the movie (most did) it's a really beautiful and fast solid racing game, total non-mario kart too, lots of courses and tournaments to clear
- DOOM 64 and oddly I've seen many pass it off thinking it's a PC port, it's not. Totally unique, even taps the Doom Bible to add the missing laser weapon you piece together to use on a nasty final boss, epic fun.
- Nightmare Creatures - Yes it's on PS1, it's also inferior on there. N64 has better attention to detail, better camera and control, it came out after so things got more ironed out, spooky fun and quite dark game.
- Resident Evil 2 - Again a PS1 game, and other than the very compressed video, better on N64 too. Higher res textures, larger more complex 3D models, multiple blood colors, and other tweaks.

The Midway arcade/dreamcast conversions are all 4 very solid on the N64 -- Both Ready 2 Rumble Boxing(prefer #1), Hydro Thunder and Gauntlet Legends. Alone or with friends they're awesome. The boxing game is like a weird punch out like experience but yet not as the perspective is different. Hydro Thunder is just fast, beautiful, turbo required and can be arcade cheap but it's fun one to just keep retrying to clear and has fun unlockable boats. Gauntlet really needs no explanation and it works surprisingly well on the N64 even with full player support going, and unlike Dark Legacy the levels are in a logical order and isn't too long to get boring.


This is moderately off topic, but I've been thinking since I no longer have or will ever have a Wii or likely a WiiU again I lost access to Sin & Punishment. I don't want to chop up my N64 slot port for games, $30+ seems steep on ebay but what can I do for an adapter?

[Aussie2B]

If it's only for one game, you could just as well swap the back of a Japanese cart with the back of a US cart, if you have the bit to open them up.

[The Adventurer]

Avoid Aerofighters Assault. I was obsessed with getting my hands of that game when I was a teen, because the idea of flying around fighter planes in 3D was really cool to me coming off Pilotwings 64. But as soon as I got it I realized it was kind of not very good. A few months ago I went back to figure out why I rejected it so strongly, and it's because its framerate is ungodly bad.

You're better off just playing Aircombat/Acecombat on PS1


Other cheap platformers probably worth looking at....

Glover
Buck Bumble
Gex 2 & 3
Chameleon Twist 1 & 2
Rocket Robot on Wheels

[Tanooki]

I actually like Aerofighters, just picked it back up over the weekend for $5. Same thing with Top Gear Rally for that price, and $10 for a CIB Perfect Dark. All of those I think are good ideas.

Glover which you listed is pretty unique and fun, and I think it was fairly overlooked, but not too badly as a sequel was made but canceled.

[A.C. Sativa]

Not sure if any of them are under $20, but all the AKI wrestling games are pretty great.

[celerystalker]

This is moderately off topic, but I've been thinking since I no longer have or will ever have a Wii or likely a WiiU again I lost access to Sin & Punishment. I don't want to chop up my N64 slot port for games, $30+ seems steep on ebay but what can I do for an adapter?

I just use a Game Shark to play Sin & Punishment. It works fine, and you can get one for pocket change.

[RP2A03]

If it's only for one game, you could just as well swap the back of a Japanese cart with the back of a US cart, if you have the bit to open them up.

This is what I did. If you don't have have a security torx you can use a lighter and a few Bic pens.

[retro junkie]

I thought that I would update my info with some detail. I too would second Castlevania 64. Keep it out of your mind any thoughts of the old Castlevania and enjoy it for what it is, a good game. I found Fighter's Destiny very interesting because it graded you on your fighting. It has me interested in the 2nd game. Beetle Adventure Racing is an awesome racer that should be in everyone's collection.

Extreme G and Extreme G 2 are a couple of bike racers that I feel are very good for around $5.

Hydro Thunder- arcade water racer=this one too has become expensive, may be able to find one for $20
Goemon's Great Adventure= did not realize this one had become so expensive- keep a watch on ebay and you will run across one under $20. I have seen one this week.
Robotron 64- $9.99
Super Robot Spirits 64 (Japan) $12 free shipping- Gundam fighting game like SF 2- it is a fighter, no language problem.
Cruis'n Exotica- arcade racer- under $20 easily
Dark Rift- 3D figher that has a sort-of Tekken Virtua Fighter mixture type feel, I got into this game and like it. $5 to $10
Fighting Force 64- a 3D final fight- bad reviews- but I found it enjoyable- as cheap as $12
Ridge Racer 64- arcade racer- as cheap as $5
Bust-A-Move 2- arcade puzzler- as cheap as $12
Wipeout 64- love the fact that this game is on a cart, my favorite Wipeout, $5
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Japan) watch the anime and it will not be hard to follow. I have found this game different and addicting. Found the moves online. The language barrier I did not find a problem.
Star Wars Racer - very good racer to get into- this one is easy to pick up for around $5.

You can change the back on the Japan games so you can play them on a US system. I have a local shop where I can usually pick up an N64 sports game for 99cents. You can pick up the tool on ebay. I am starting to pick up some Japanese games and I modded my console last weekend. I might have more recommendations later.

[RARusk]

This is what I did. If you don't have have a security torx you can use a lighter and a few Bic pens.

Or you can just open up the console itself and cut off the tabs. Saves you from having to change out the back of each cartridge.

Been looking at maybe overclocking my N64 and I definitely want to get the Ultra HDMI mod board (taps into the digital signals off the motherboard and allows the N64 to have its own high grade HDMI signal).

[Tanooki]

I just use a Game Shark to play Sin & Punishment. It works fine, and you can get one for pocket change.

I read some vague comments online about needing a certain version like 3.0 or 4 if your game was made in/after 1999 which S*P falls under. I had considered it.


RetroJunkie thanks for the reasoning on the games, makes sense, and agree on those I've owned before. And I was wondering about back swaps if the clamps and screws lined up perfectly or not. I know where I can peg some horrid 99 cent sports games with no problem. I'd have no issue doing that and throwing the Japanese back into a box on a shelf to avoid a converter. The sad thing is I can only think of 3 games I'd really do this with which are S&P, Evangelion, and then Bangaioh which flipper trash have manipulated up to the $100 mark which I won't do. Some of the robot fighting games may be alright, really not sure what else is out there without a barrier to it.


I do understand you could chip away at the tabs int he N64 but I won't do that, ever, not after what it did to my original retail day one SNES I owned for a very long time (20 years). I eventually had to ditch the thing and sell it off to someone else who would put up with it. Those tabs not only are for security but the way the SNES frame is setup it eventually ended up loosening the connection and I had a lot of games just not post, or if anything shook the SNES in the slightest (I'm talking you could fart in its general direction) and the game would lose connection and lock up. The work around was wedging a piece of folded up paper in there which I did not like so I ditched it for a SNES-2 for a time until I found the DK Super Set I got shortly after moving back here 3 years ago.

[celerystalker]

8313
I use this one. I can say first hand that it works fine with Sin & Punishment.

[Tanooki]

Looks like the one I had some years ago, problem is if they lose the little circular sticker on the back I am not certain if you can look at the boot menu or not to see what version it is. Still though, I think since I don't use cheat codes (I tried one I found v4.1 I think it was for Res Evil 2 because save ribbons suck and it failed,) I'd probably be better off just getting dollar dumper sports games and using the parts. One less piss poor NFL game isn't going to ruin anyone's week being off the market. :)

[retro junkie]

The backs of the games line up perfect. The only thing different is the location of the regional notches that prevent the game from being played on the other system. The N64 that I modded for Japan games was one I purchased at a local indoor flea market. Got it for around $10 with AC adapter and a controller. I felt guilty, like I stole it. My original N64 that I got years ago at Walmart still in mint condition. So I do have a little understanding about the fear of modding.

Hmmm.... I never thought of something like the GameShark.

[Tanooki]

That's the oldest system actually I own first hand still is my N64. Bought it the day that dinosaurs would fly back in 1996, got it at a software etc my friend worked at. It has never once failed me and rather let it die of old age than abuse at this point.

[SparTonberry]

Those tabs not only are for security but the way the SNES frame is setup it eventually ended up loosening the connection and I had a lot of games just not post, or if anything shook the SNES in the slightest (I'm talking you could fart in its general direction) and the game would lose connection and lock up.
WHAT?
It's a tiny little piece of plastic that I doubt is adding much if anything to the stability of the console. I had my friend cut that out over 15 years ago and my SNES is still running fine. (although he did it a cheap way and stuck a soldering iron in there, kind of got the dust cover stuck open and it was like that for awhile until I got a gamebit to open the console and pull it back closed. Still runs though.) Sure you just didn't open the console and then not tighten it enough when closing it?
I've done that on an N64, too (although I did it on a cheap spare console). Haven't played it in awhile but it also worked fine last I did. It was a little more of a pain because in the US N64 the tabs that need to be removed are in the corner of the cart slot. I opened the console and slowly ground them away with a cardboard nail file.

As to loosing connection on the SNES, yeah I've had that before but that was even before modifying the tabs. I had wondered, when that happened when I was a kid, if it could be from living in a cold climate, if the temperature change around it causes the power cord to come loose. Whatever, I recall solving that by taping the plug into the console.

[Gameguy]

This is moderately off topic, but I've been thinking since I no longer have or will ever have a Wii or likely a WiiU again I lost access to Sin & Punishment. I don't want to chop up my N64 slot port for games, $30+ seems steep on ebay but what can I do for an adapter?
There are actual import adapters available for the N64, I have one I found with a Japanese game several years ago. Some available are more advanced and will let you play PAL games on NTSC systems and vice versa.

Here's an example of a more advanced one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N64_Passport

[FieryReign]

Looks like the one I had some years ago, problem is if they lose the little circular sticker on the back I am not certain if you can look at the boot menu or not to see what version it is. Still though, I think since I don't use cheat codes (I tried one I found v4.1 I think it was for Res Evil 2 because save ribbons suck and it failed,) I'd probably be better off just getting dollar dumper sports games and using the parts. One less piss poor NFL game isn't going to ruin anyone's week being off the market. :)

The Blitz games of that era are actually quite fun.

[Tanooki]

WHAT?
It's a tiny little piece of plastic that I doubt is adding much if anything to the stability of the console. I had my friend cut that out over 15 years ago and my SNES is still running fine. (although he did it a cheap way and stuck a soldering iron in there, kind of got the dust cover stuck open and it was like that for awhile until I got a gamebit to open the console and pull it back closed. Still runs though.) Sure you just didn't open the console and then not tighten it enough when closing it?
I've done that on an N64, too (although I did it on a cheap spare console). Haven't played it in awhile but it also worked fine last I did. It was a little more of a pain because in the US N64 the tabs that need to be removed are in the corner of the cart slot. I opened the console and slowly ground them away with a cardboard nail file.

As to loosing connection on the SNES, yeah I've had that before but that was even before modifying the tabs. I had wondered, when that happened when I was a kid, if it could be from living in a cold climate, if the temperature change around it causes the power cord to come loose. Whatever, I recall solving that by taping the plug into the console.

When I did it was back in the mid 90s and I didn't know you could even get a security bit. My mom had this long necked thin automatic nail file (kind of like a dremel) and I just sanded them smooth to the rest of the inside. The system suffered for it in a steady southern california climate a few miles away from the beach where temps were steady but no salt in the air so it wasn't that.


Gameguy--Saw a couple of those sold overseas(EU region) on ebay but they too were around $30 shipped or more if they decided to troll using the GSP since ebay opened it up for there into the US now too (I hate that, makes buying too expensive with shipping more than the product so I don't.)

Fiery: I know if you're into football they're solid, I really hate football. I remember when that very last one special edition release was being worked on while I was at Midway. Only had a couple people with it, no one wanted to work on the N64 (or the Dreamcast either for their arcade compilation package), at the time as everyone wanted to be on the PS2 and Gamecube. My game was Hitz 2002 which is Hockey with no penalties.

[wayultratech]

I just hacked the tabs on my N64 unit, it's ugly as hell!! But yep it plays import games and I haven't had a prob with it!!

http://k18.imgup.net/hacked6415e60.png (http://imgup.net)

http://s17.imgup.net/hacked6428093.png (http://imgup.net)

Some great NTSC-J N64 games that are around $20:

Dezaemon 3D!! Shmup editor, and there's some premade stages as well. The menus take a little getting used to but overall it's pretty good!!
Puzzle Bobble 64
Puyo Puyo SUN 64

[Tanooki]

I hate to sound like one of those people but... the horror! Why would you do that?

I really need to sit down and evaluate what is out there on the N64 from Japan that would be interesting.

[Gentlegamer]

http://i.imgur.com/wnIaRyJ.gif

[Aussie2B]

Huh? This is the first I've ever heard of claims that modding a SNES could have any impact on the connection between the system's connectors and a game's circuit board. I really don't see how it could cause any problem, unless the connectors have issues in the first place. I've modded two Super Nintendo systems, a model 1 and a model 2, and nothing about their performance has changed in the 10+ years since. (Modding done by chipping away at the tabs with a pair of needle-nose pliers, for what it's worth.) My modded N64 was also modded over a decade ago (modded by melting the tabs down with a soldering iron) and has also experienced no change in performance (well, besides the fact that the power switch has gotten weird, but that's an unrelated issue). I also have an unaltered model 1 SNES and an unaltered N64, which I use from time to time, and they work no differently from their modded counterparts.

So I dunno what to tell you, but there's really no need to fear modding.

[retro junkie]

I just hacked the tabs on my N64 unit, it's ugly as hell!! But yep it plays import games and I haven't had a prob with it!!

http://k18.imgup.net/hacked6415e60.png (http://imgup.net)

http://s17.imgup.net/hacked6428093.png (http://imgup.net)

Some great NTSC-J N64 games that are around $20:

Dezaemon 3D!! Shmup editor, and there's some premade stages as well. The menus take a little getting used to but overall it's pretty good!!
Puzzle Bobble 64
Puyo Puyo SUN 64

About these photos, I have been psychologically traumatized. Forever are these images burned into my brain. Might even need to go into group therapy. The nightmares will never end.

I have just received a copy of Dezaemon 3D, box, booklet, card, all for under $10, free shipping. I will be taking some time off in a week. I am saving it for then. Looks to be good. My kind of fun.

[Tanooki]

Hah... and yes now that one Dezaemon I've heard of that, it's the other Japanese space shooter but you can make your own stages as well if you want right? I wanted that back in the day. I had an interesting early-mid history with the N64 in the day, oddly locally, not even online when it came to imports which was odd. This weird one off game shop opened up within 5mi of my house and they were a very friendly bunch and new or used they felt the gamer must have the right to try before they would buy and had a good solid wall long of TVs with a few NES, SNES, N64 and Genesis systems out there to use, mostly Nintendo though (got to go with what's popular) and your usual corporate kiosks which included the PS1 (can't recall a saturn.) Anyway, because of the slow start (my interest at least) for the N64 I found they would import games and one I was on the fence about was Mystical Ninja 64 and they got it in. Despite the barrier I was able to play for awhile and fell in love with that game and if it wasn't for my need to know what to do I could have bought it then and there with an adapter for (game) no more than the US price. They never did get in Dezaemon and sadly they also didn't last but a few years which sucked, perhaps my ex-friend out there with his huge supply and then formerly super cheap prices along with Funcoland that popped up killed them.

I forgot there was a Puzzle Bobble release for the N64, unless that's just a re-sticker of one of the US releases?

Damn I wish my paypal wasn't sad and empty, trying to sell some more bland and/or exotic stuff off and it's going real slow. I think I'd go for a S&P cart and Dezaemon to have something more unique to screw around with.

Well I went and used the wikipedia, sure there are some robot fighting games without lots of text but I know I'd tire of those fast like that Last Legion UX one. I did find stuff I forgot about and not that could be fun if the price is right - Tetris 64, Sin & Punishment, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Dezaemon 3D, BangaiO(I know expensive), and Rakugakids maybe too.

[retro junkie]

I just got Rakugakids for $12 with free shipping. I am really looking forward to sitting down with that one. Looks to be weird and interesting.

[Tanooki]

I saw that was a cheap one along with Tetris 64 too. Dezaemon 3D is low too and even if you don't make a shooter it has 2 5 stage shooters with full play and time attack as well in there and it's about the same as you paid for Ragukakids. Also I saw that Evangelion is around $20~ which isn't terrible either for a quirky anime based robot fighting game based on that franchise of all things.

I'll be after them shortly but I'm after some bigger fish n64 first. :) Problem is it'll break my ebay account so I've got to sacrifice a few things that'll be hitting the site tomorrow and ebay a few days later. It'll cover it, especially the game & watch that's going bye bye.

[Gameguy]

http://k18.imgup.net/hacked6415e60.png (http://imgup.net)

http://s17.imgup.net/hacked6428093.png (http://imgup.net)
For sale: N64 console in excellent condition, barely used. Almost like just taken out of the box fresh from the factory. Yours for just $200. Best deal currently here on craigslist, hurry cause this will sell fast. No trades and price is firm.

[wayultratech]

Yeah I know that N64 is zombified, it's my 2nd unit, used only for imports or to scare unsuspecting guests

[kupomogli]

WWE No Mercy
WWE Wrestlemania 2000
Nightmare Creatures
Forsaken

This is a good idea. Make one for PSX games.

[Tanooki]

YOu want to scare guests, put some ketchup on there and a little voice chip going brains and have a green led inside the port and vent. That'll do it, as it's messed up enough to work. :D

I found a better way around chopping one up or even flipping the backs off dollar games, just going to be a matter of time now.

[Nathan Dunsmore]

Two more: Army Men Air Combat and Battletanx: Global Assault.

[Tanooki]

Wrangled up 2 cheap N64 games of interest today - Nightmare Creatures which is fantastic and then Hybrid Heaven. First I'm enjoying so far did one stage, but did 1-1 on HH so far and I can't tell if the game is just absurdly hard or badly aged because the first dude I ran across in 1-2 killed me. I can't recall if I ever finished that back in the 90s but I did own it before.

I came across a couple copies of MK Mythologies but at $15 and $18 I left it though the 18 was CIB. I just need to know if it sucks or not on my own merits before bothering.

[Gamevet]

I like the Star Wars games on the N64. My favorite is Rogue Squadron.

You can also pick up Shadows of the Empire and Battle for Naboo for pretty cheap.

[Tanooki]

Shadows is my favorite and if I ever get in a mood for racing much again the Episode 1 racer is the best thing to come out of that movie. Rogue isn't bad, but it has some flaws that bug me they cleaned up in the sequel, and the main one being that you don't know clearly what the objectives are per map and can easily fail them for what appears to be no good reason and quite instantly. The GC titles list all the objectives and knock them off as you do them, but that said it's a quality game still. I never got into the Naboo one, but I only recall tooling around in some ground car like thing shooting droids and getting bored. I still truly believe bugs aside Indiana Jones was Factor 5's best effort for the N64.

Speaking of which while it's easy to be a tool and pay around $30 for it, you can fairly easily get Indiana JOnes and the Infernal Machine for $20 on ebay with a little effort, easier though in a lot with another game or two to dilute the value. If you do get it, just remember to save often as it likes to crash for no good reason other than to infuriate you because Lucas refused to let it have a complete team to finish it on time so it got shoveled out as is which is even kind of mind blowing NIntendo would have allowed that. I met the last man standing on that project at E3 in 2000 and he was furious the more he told me about the development cycle on it.

[Gamevet]

Rogue Squadron is still my favorite. It looked pretty good with the RAM upgrade.

Rogue Squadron 2 is the game that sold me on buying my Gamecube.

[Gentlegamer]

Those Star Wars exclusives were the last time Nintendo had a good third-party relationship. Mostly the work of Howard Lincoln, I believe.

[retro junkie]

Transformers Beast Wars, the Japanese version only, is really not that bad of a fighting game. But it is the Japan version that is a lot better than the US version. There is a difference in the way the camera pans during the fight which changes the whole strategy of the game play. This game sells for around $10 on eBay and many time that is with free shipping.

If you are a fan then you might get into it.

[Tanooki]

I think you're relatively right about Howard Lincoln, despite NCL interference he was able to wrangle up some really nice exclusives or partial (PC+Nintendo) exclusives back with the N64, some of those relations trickled into the GC as well, but once he was out and that moron chia pet head was in along with Iwata in Japan it was sayounara to the good stuff. N64 despite being spanked by the PS1 and the GC too by the PS2 they both had healthy third party support (more on GC for 1/2 it's life or so than N64 which was book-ended other than US companies like Midway and Activision.) If you roll down the line of exclusive third party games N64 was more or less the last, and then with non-exclusive but ports unlike N64 FC got quite a bit of really solid goodies of which at enough times it was the best release too.

Ever since Nintendo went into the self centered design+disrupting the market racket instead of fostering relationships and being unique in smaller better ways they fell off the deep end. If the Wii hadn't been so much of an anomaly that grannies and non-gaming adults bought it by the tens of millions they would have been rightly and bluntly put...fucked.


Anyway back on topic =) I over spent this weekend a bit so my wallet is pretty sad looking now. Yesterday for $10 was Hybrid Heaven and the awesome better version of Nightmare Creatures -- but today for another $20 was Fighting Force 64 and Hexen which I've neither touched before (slight DOS play with Hexen like 20 years ago though.) Can't wait to dig into that stuff here shortly. Non-related in my vintage toy buying stuff I pissed another $30 on that too with a metal 1940s~ toy phone yesterday for $10 and today with the box(wrecked) for $20 a Secret Agent Hideaway Pistol (it's a cap gun, never fired, based on the derringer which I think may just stay on my desk for coolness value. :D

I did forget how much at times N64 got the good stuff when it came from certain developers if you were into specific genres. iD games made it in force on the N64 and it was a mixed bag of shared name but new stages/content and also ports with DOOM, Hexen, Quake(port), Quake 2 (unique) and then non-iD were those Duke Nukem titles I hear ok things about (at least one of them.) Also if you loved racing games there's quite a lot too from more realistic like with World Driver Championship to the more future (Extreme G 1+2) or just karting or weird like South Park and Mario Kart. In a sad way the N64 was overlooked but it was very much the frat boy dude box given the hell of a lot of FPS, Sports, and Racing games it had along with some fighting titltes too and seeing N64s as I did in college there was no doubt.


7 HOURS LATER -- I get to finally playing Hexen 64, I haven't touhed Hexen the PC version and even then barely in the mid 90s when it came out. I remember it, I looked it up even. I am strongly questioning why the hell this game got rated into such mediocrity?? It it because it's a modded DOOM engine ported to N64 and not a 3D setup like DOOM64 was? Controls work, environments are gloomy and evil with the same low/high? level detail that the PC version in DOS had. Sure it's a memory card pig eating up nearly an entire one for a save game (wtf?!) but other than that what's the deal? It's hard. Even on easy it's hard especially until you end up getting your first projectile weapon as you go for a bit at first going with your hand melee weapon only. Perhaps people were just too turned on by the early 3D stuff like Quake did on PC or the edgy mouth of Duke Nukem but it's actually solid, takes some brain power to figure out how to get around (and not die too.) Underrated game for $5 that's for certain.

Fighting Force i played into at least stage 4, had a couple saves (seems to do it every 2 stages with a boss fight.) Game plays shockingly well, a nice 3D style Final FIght/Streets of Rage(perhaps more this due to the cop stuff) all the way. It can get some cheap moments if you're surrounded but just don't, or use that nasty backhand that always connects, turns you 180 around and allows a nice can of whoop ass to get laid down. FOr the period, solid graphics and audio along with good areas and a good bit of people and breakables in every place along with weapons. I kind of feel like I screwed up ignoring this one being unsure back in the 90s, but hey at least it's fresh now right? I can recommend this one too.

[M.Buster2184]

Command and Conquer on 64. I know it's not the best port of the game, but a the time it was pretty damn fun ( i didn't have a computer when that game came out). Even still I enjoy playing it from time to time.

[Leo_A]

I just hacked the tabs on my N64 unit, it's ugly as hell!! But yep it plays import games and I haven't had a prob with it!!

http://k18.imgup.net/hacked6415e60.png (http://imgup.net)

http://s17.imgup.net/hacked6428093.png (http://imgup.net)

Some great NTSC-J N64 games that are around $20:

Dezaemon 3D!! Shmup editor, and there's some premade stages as well. The menus take a little getting used to but overall it's pretty good!!
Puzzle Bobble 64
Puyo Puyo SUN 64

I hope that you were at least drunk when you did that mess.

[Tanooki]

Good called MBuster, same with Starcraft 64 which had even the expansion pack brood war and more but it's a $40 game sadly.

...again with the friday the 13th hatchet victim looking N64, at least it's the right month for it.

[TheKokiriChild]

* Mission Impossible - is an underrated title. I actually had a lot of fun with that one.
* Pokemon Puzzle League - it's basically just Tetris Attack but its super addicting.
* Chameleon Twist 1 & 2 - Fantastic platformers though they're painfully short in length.
* Glover - Another good platformer that gets too often forgotten.
* South Park Chef's Luv Shack - I am an avid fan of South Park and I found this game hilarious while playing with friends. Get a group of 4 or more people together, pop open some beers, and have a laugh.
* WinBack - Very similar to Metal Gear, is an okay game.

There's actually a lot of unearthed gems I've found on Nintendo 64. Mischief Makers, Beetle Adventure Racing, Snowboard Kids, Space Station Silicon Valley, all great games.

[Tanooki]

I thought of some I recall being recommended in the day but I've no experience with -- Rocket Robot on Wheels and Tonic Trouble both platformers. I haven't looked to ebay to see if they break the 20 dollar mark but I remember them being talked up.


Hey I want to put it out there since I had mentioned the look and cheap price of World Driving Championship awhile ago in this thread -- do not buy it. As far as car games go it has some physics and punishment problems with it that are fairly unfair. If you want a car on a dry road to take a turn like you're on ice, and if you like that the AI can hit you and make your car either nearly stop or spin around/ping pong off of walls while it just takes off, then it's for you, otherwise buy it for a buck or two like I did today and use it for replacement parts. :)

Oh that when I went in and snapped it up for the metal bracket inside, 4 screws, the back plate and the plastic black piece when I was there to get Kirby 64. I won't go into it, I'd be breaking the threads rules. :P

[Leo_A]

I really liked World Driver Championship. Great graphics and a lot of car and track variety. The physics are challenging and the AI put up a good fight, but the only issues I remember are no car licenses (Doesn't matter to me) and the soundtrack isn't very good.

I usually mute the music and run the audio of that one through a contraption I've made to mix music from my MP3 player to the game's audio, allowing the combined output to be sent to my tv's speakers. Goes well with soundtracks like that of Outrun or Top Gear from the SuperNes.

Its career mode is excellent and one that I haven't seen equaled since then.

[Tanooki]

I more or less totally agree down to the career as it is fantastic but those issues make it just unplayablely unenjoyable to me sadly and yes the letterbox high resolution mode was awesome.

[bacteria]

For me, the best N64 games are: Doom64, Super Mario 64, Pokemon Puzzle League, Waverace, Donkey Kong 64; none of these are expensive. I've yet to play some games, which I own, and classics: Zelda, Conker.

[Tanooki]

Despite the love I don't think Zelda has aged as well but it's still good, if you had the time for just one you're doing a disservice not playing Conker as that game is nuts and a really fun ride which also thankfully doesn't turn into a traditional Rare overkill collect-a-thon to open a gate and do it again. They built that game for story, game play, and keeping a good pace thankfully.

[celerystalker]

I really dislike the N64 Zeldas and think they are some of the most overrated games ever. I'm glad a lot of people enjoy them, but for me they are just no fun to play. Then again, not really relevant to your topic, being firsy party and all.

I mentioned it before, but I actually enjoyed the US Bomberman 64. It's one of the few games in the franchise with a truly full single player experience that is very puzzle oriented and has a lot of secrets and unlockables, and even some decent boss fights. It's not just a retread of the successful formula. It has its flaws, but there's a pretty fun game there.

[JSoup]

Let's see:

Tetrisphere
Extreme-G
Quest 64 (if game only, it's easily under $20)
Bomberman Hero
And then the typical stuff, Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, Pokemon Stadium, etc.

[Tanooki]

Let's see:

Quest 64 (if game only, it's easily under $20)


That is one I did not expect. I love the game, but it gets so unfairly and rudely dumped on by the hardcore RPG snooty crowd it just gets left in the dump. It came out the same time FF7 did so I can see that having an influence, yet as much as FF wanted to claim it was the first full turn based console RPG, this one I think was really it. It wasn't the side by side FF format, you have a huge combat 'ring' around the area, and per turn you could move within a radius around Brian(the hero) and move towards enemies that had theres, or to the outer ring and escape. The entire overworld was 3D too, not static high quality pictures with even lower quality polygonal models over the top of it.

The only real flaw with the game is that while the spells are fun and very useful at times, for much of the earlier half of the game the best move is to run in and club the hell out of the enemy with your staff to win. Spells were fun as they were based on the four elements and as you raised their power new stuff would unlock, a real learning experience, not buying overpriced books in the next town like FF de-evolved into after FF4. RPG nerds I remember not liking that much, but the arrogant reasons for hating on it I loved -- you didn't have to buy stuff. This was a self aware RPG where the people in every town or hut you find would know you're out to save the world and they'd give you free board at the Inn, free restorative items, and just other goodies. Your usual RPG is like...well yeah, you're saving the world, please pay me $100K for this best armor you can buy so you can beat the game and survive doing it and while you're at it, it's $1K/night at the inn for your party.

[Aussie2B]

It came out the same time FF7 did so I can see that having an influence, yet as much as FF wanted to claim it was the first full turn based console RPG, this one I think was really it.

What? Final Fantasy VII came out in September '97, while Quest 64 came out in June '98. Almost a year apart by US release dates. Over a year if you go off of their original releases (January '97 in Japan for FFVII; still June '98 for Quest 64 since it came out in the US before any other region). And Final Fantasy VII wasn't even close to being the first turn-based RPG available in the US for PS1, let alone if you count Japan-exclusives.

I don't think Final Fantasy VII had much of an impact on Quest 64. Most people who had a PS1 didn't have a N64 and vice versa. What hurt Quest 64 was that it was the first RPG available in the US for N64, so expectations were high for a lot of N64 owners who were fans of RPGs and they were severely disappointed. All the more so if they had made the transition to N64 from SNES and had played amazing RPGs on SNES like Chrono Trigger.

I don't much appreciate the insinuation that I'm snooty, unfair, and rude just because I really did not like Quest 64. I dropped 80 bucks to play the game (first $60 on the game, then I ran back to the store to pick up a controller pak because I didn't realize I couldn't save without one and had yet to buy one), was excited to play it and hopeful that it'd be good, and as I got further and further I just had to accept the reality that I wasn't having fun and I, with great struggle, forced myself to finish it off (hoping to at least get a marginally satisfying ending, but, nope, even that was shit, as it's just some text scrolling over a still picture).

The fact of the matter, whether you enjoy Quest 64 or not, it's a very rushed, unfinished game. It's not hard to understand why that fact would make many people dislike it. You were supposed to be able to ride the horse that you see at the beginning of the game; that was cut out. You're supposed to be able to recruit party members; that was cut out. It's supposed to have a currency and shopping system; that was cut out. So on and so forth. Yeah, it's nice that you can rest for free and get a free loaf of bread, but that's just a half-broken cop-out. You can get ONLY one loaf of regular bread if you're out, but that's hardly enough to heal in the later portions of the game where bosses can do significant damage. So you're forced to play the game as if it's a survival horror game or something, relying on the few stronger healing items you find in treasure chests and doing your best to not use them unless you REALLY need to.

I think I very well could've enjoyed Quest 64 if it got the development time it needed, but it didn't so I don't. It's not amazing or anything, but I think the GBC game, which has basically the same story, is much better.

[celerystalker]

I liked Quest 64 at the time, but even then I didn't think it was a good game; I just liked it okay. I don't think FFVII had any impact on its sales negatively. If anything, more people were looking to play RPGs because of VII, and Quest probably benefitedfrom more people wanting to play RPGs on a system utterly starved for them.

I bought it at launch, beat it, and had some fun, but it sucked next to the SNES games I still had. I liked how colorful it was, and I liked the magic system. The story was super generic, and I found myself at times disoriented facing a different direction after a tight stream of random encounters. I liked a couple of the towns, and hated the awkward NPC models. For what it costs now, not a bad pickup, but it's hardly a secret masterpiece. Just a modestly playable, mediocre RPG, but there's not much else like it on N64.

[Aussie2B]

Yeah, the fact that you resume exploring from whatever direction you finished the battle in is a huge flaw. They should've readjusted your position back to where you were before the battle, or at the very least, provided a map. Maybe that was planned and got cut, who knows. The magic system is interesting but half-baked like everything else in the game. You're so reliant on the limited number of wisps you find in the wild, and if you don't allocate the points well, you can screw yourself out of getting the strong healing and attack spells, which are a real must toward the end of the game (again, because of the limited healing items). And there's no indication of which categories you should focus on, so it's a crapshoot.

[JSoup]

I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of Quest 64 as a kid. I found the game infuriating. As the years have past and I've made more than one playthrough, I've gained an appreciation for it.

[Tanooki]

Aussie I know that they had a space between them, but they both competed in the same space between the 2 systems. I recall comments coming out against Quest 64 just not being a great game like FF7, media and fan trolls alike loved to draw unfair comparisons and that stuck in my memory so I wrote that. The impact was the media and the fanboy level stuff, but in general consumers most definitely not for being an influence as you usually had one system or the other. The media and vocal minority liked to play word games. I think you're a bit deluded if you feel that Quest was drastically rushed as it was clearly a limitation of the hardware and the developer sticking to a cheap smaller more cost effective storage chip on the cart to draw a profit from. It was the usual deal for most of the N64's life...cut corners with cheaper chips and often cut more corners not paying for a save chip+battery and pass it off to the consumer using controller (memory) paks. I'll concede the ending was ripped away which was pretty ratty when you look at the cutting room floor site, but I don't remember the final game ever intending to ride horses or have a full party even if stuff at one rate was shown in images or clips whatever it may have been and I can't seem to find a clip of that either. Sure the game maybe in smaller parts was rushed given the sliced up ending and all the empty rooms in various places of the game too, but it plays well. I think you digging at it for supposedly removing intended money, intended freebies and the rest kind of backs up my comment about acting snooty about it. I've never played the GBC game, either of them.

Celery there's Aidyns Chronicles but I heard it's very slow, terrible and confusing without a guide as it often gives you little to no clue what to do or where to go.

My only beef really with Quest was the fact you needed to find most/all of the wisps for the best spells and in turn much of the early part of the game turned into a club thumping title because it could often do better damage. I didn't mind having the limited curatives considering just walking around refilled the HP/MP anywhere in the game other than towns if I remember right. I'd just do a tight circle in a safe spot and fill back up. If I remember combat wasn't overly common so you could easily refill life either if you were near a town if too underleveled or just in general spinning around in a little circle on a spot like I said. I died some in it, but not a lot by any means.

[JSoup]

The simplest way to deal with Quest was to dump all your wisps into earth, so you had that one high damage aoe spell and that one that makes you completely invincible for two turns. Then run around in circles until your range is fully upgraded (remember, your range in battle is based on how many steps you take out of battle). Then just stand as far back as you can, drop aoe, continue playing, rinse repeat.

[SparTonberry]

Quest 64 was released a full year later in Japan and it was supposedly improved in that time but I guess unless someone does a translation patch for it we won't know (I heard the ending was extended, at least).

[celerystalker]

Tanooki, yeah, I've played Aidyn Chronicles... it came out a few years after Quest, but was still not much fun. It gets busted on a lot for being a glitchy mess, and really, it is... but the lack of RPGs on N64 is hardly new news at this point I suppose.

I mostly agree with Aussie on this one. The game's just not that good, and I'm in the camp that kinda enjoyed it. I don't think the media was off base to compare it to other RPGs, as THQ really marketed it as the first REAL RPG on the system... comparing it to other RPGs on current and past systems was more than fair, I think. I'm no big FFVII fan, but I wouldn't blame anyone at the time for looking at other games before spending their money. Overall, it's a mediocre game that's still probably the best of its kind on the system.

I personally found it best to build water up enormously first for healing and decent range with the walking water spell, then focus onel one other element for attack. There just aren't enough wisps to really make a well-rounded character.

[Aussie2B]

I remember far more comparing of Ocarina of Time to Final Fantasy VII, seeing as they were the "killer apps" for their respective systems around that time. When Quest 64 was compared to other games, I mostly saw comparisons to SNES RPGs, since those who went with the N64 rather than the PlayStation were still waiting for the N64 to get some good RPGs.

It's well-documented that Quest 64 was rushed and that a great deal of planned content was either cut out or never implemented at all. When Nintendo Power did a decent-length preview of the game, they looked at a version that the developer said was about 60% done, and going off of the screens and what was described in the game (and what was described as to come), the version that was released doesn't seem much different from that 60% version. Pretty much all the intended features I mentioned before are stated in that preview (the horse as a means of transportation, the recruitable party members, etc.) Heck, I would argue that you don't even really need outside sources for these things because the game makes it so painfully obvious. I mean, when you meet two characters who are more developed story-wise than anybody else and their models are more intricate than any other NPCs, you can tell that something weird is going on and that they once had a greater purpose in mind. Or like how the horse is the ONLY horse you come across in the game. The cut content sticks out like a sore thumb to my eyes. Maybe if I had bought Quest 64 blind, without reading anything about it beforehand, I would've been slightly less disappointed with it, but it's pretty damn frustrating when you're excited about a game and reading about all these features that it'll have but when you finally get to buy it, nope, sorry, none of those features made it in.

If my genuinely not enjoying the game and stating the reasons as to why makes me snooty, well, so be it, I guess. I never said I had a problem with anybody liking it, but people who do like it need to accept that a lot of people don't and nobody is "wrong" for feeling one way or the other. It may suck to be in the minority opinion on a game, but we all have games that we like that are widely disliked and vice versa.

[Gameguy]

* WinBack - Very similar to Metal Gear, is an okay game.
I have this game on the PS2 and it's really pretty good. Not great but not terrible for what it is. From what I've read the PS2 version is enhanced from the N64 one so it's probably the version to get if any. If I'm remembering right, I paid $1 for my complete copy.


I do have to say I've played Hexen for the N64 and I hated it. Just a miserable experience with it, a generic first person shooter at the time when this genre was at it's peak in rising popularity. The N64 version also lacks the FMV that are in the original PC CD-ROM version and other console ports.

I find that most good N64 exclusives are on par with mediocre Genesis or mediocre SNES games. I'd just rather play games on other consoles instead of anything on the N64, with it's horrible early 3D and terrible controls. For the games that aren't exclusives, I'd rather play them on other consoles instead. Even the PS1 has better games, and for the most part they're cheaper than N64 games if anyone just wants to play obscure cheap games.

[Tanooki]

That's a shame abouy Aidyn Chronicles and I have not plan to touch it despite the fact I know where I can find it cheap as it seems like just self punishment. As far as quest goes I tended to not dump much into fire but Earth and Water were best as was that homing Wind spell for knocking off HP at a distance to soften a target. As far as Hexen goes I think it's one of those take it or leave it things. IT was back in the day too because as stated, it was dated when it even came out since it's running on the aging DOOM engine while other stuff moved into earlier 3D like Quake and so on. Also if you really were huge up on using a keyboard/mouse and perhaps 640x480 on the PC that would be nicer too, but if you played vanilla Hexen in 320x240 on DOS on the original release, it's a straight port for better or worse.

I've had Winback, had it when it came out new on the N64, and yes the PS2 version is technically from a point better, specifically with the better processing power thrown into the a/v package. But the game in general isn't very fair to the player. I don't mean so much from being super hard, but just a cheap and disgusting tactic the developer built into the game I don't recall the manual or box warning you about. If you don't clear like 2/3 of the game within 2 or 4 hours, you fail, but you don't know it. When the game ends you get a terrible ending and the bad stuff planned to happen you should stop, happens any way so it basically takes the piss out of you if you're not well skilled at it, cheating(if possible) or a speed runner. The game is not for someone who likes to really be tactical and take their time clearing out targets. That's why I likely won't buy it again. The game itself is fine but that is a issue with the way it was designed I can not get passed after being hosed by it back in the 90s.

I ended up finding a 3rd OEM memory (controller) pak today and also MK Mythologies for that price too, and Hydro Thunder for not much more either (in blue) so that'll be fun stuff to mess with. I'm aware MKM got panned by reviewers saying they didn't like the transition to an final fight like game out of a fighter, but I've watched the entire thing more or less played on youtube without someone yapping over the sound and it's fine. I just would like to find the other 2 of the MK trio of DC ports eventually -- R2R Boxing and also Gauntlet. I prefer the non-expanded Gauntlet as they threw the stages out of order on that Dark Legacy release and didn't rebalance the difficulty so it kind of sucks.